I figure someone here will know…

I want to get the passenger side window on the club 172 open all the way. Wondering if it’s as simple as just removing the screw where it attaches to the window and letting the arm dangle (or tape it down).

It looks really simple, but I’ve learned that looks can be deceiving.

Just be careful with the arm. The end inside the door is connected to a spring; if it disconnects you will develop a colorful vocabulary trying to reattach it.

RAS

Thanks, Richard. Will it suffice to tape the arm into the window frame so it doesn’t wiggle around?

Appears to be a restart 172. I had a restart 182. For aerial photography I would remove that screw and tape the arm to the inside of the frame to be able to nicely close window. Don't lose the screw.

In my aircraft, may not be true overall, the window would float up to about 1/2" to 1" under the wing and stay there. The first time I had protection on the wing, but not thereafter. Open window slowly in flight of course.

Can confirm that at a fast enough speed, the window will float open on its own. I can’t remember how fast you need to be going, but I did a CAP photo mission where we were circling the photo target slowly enough that the pilot reached over past me to hold the window open while I took the photos.

There are a couple of good sets of step-by-step instructions on how to do this, that you can find in the Cessna 172 Club Forum, now part of Pilot’s Place Forum. Having done this once, I wouldn’t be excited to do it again.

Turns out it was moot on the plane I used. The screw had been painted over I couldn’t remove enough to get a screwdriver to bite.

Fortunately, we were able to choose pumpkins that fit out the window as-is and won the pumpkin drop competition.

If you want get creative, you can fashion a strut like the Door Steward, by fabricating aluminum mounts on the door frame, and on the window. That would allow you to open the window all the way to the underside of the wing, and have a welcome breeze in the summer, as well as be able to deliver pumpkins or hand grenades, depending on your needs.